1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to content delivery and more specifically to asset lease management for content delivery.
2. Introduction
Media content providers are exploring new distribution methods for media content. Internet and portable media device playback have joined the ranks of broadcast and cable television as major distribution outlets for television shows, user-generated content, movies, radio broadcasts, music, etc. Indeed, many users prefer to rent and access media content over a network, rather than purchasing or renting a physical copy of the media content. However, network-based distribution methods have sparked unique security concerns. Media content is uniquely susceptible to theft and attacks when transmitted over a network. Protecting media content transferred over a network is thus a great challenge for media content providers.
Currently, media content providers implement various security strategies to obviate the security risks of network-based media distribution methods. Often, media content providers implement digital rights management (DRM) technologies to protect the media content. DRM technologies attempt to control usage of media content by preventing or limiting unauthorized access to the media content and hindering attempts to copy or convert the data to another format. The DRM process typically involves encrypting the piece of content in order to restrict usage to those who have been granted a right to the content and prevent unauthorized access. Unfortunately, malicious or mischievous individuals with enough time and resources often find ways to bypass DRM restrictions.
Other media content protection schemes generally work by means of security through obscurity, security by design, encryption, and other methods. But even a blend of these approaches is often insufficient to keep out a determined “hacker” or “cracker.” As a result, unauthorized users are able to access and use the media content, often restricting the authorized user's access to the media content. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved way to protect and manage network access of media content.